Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Roth Mobot Will Recreate Their "Paris Demo" This Friday at 'Banter'


'Banter'
Friday, June 29, 8:00 PM - 1:30 AM
Reversible Eye
1103 N. California Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60622 (map)

‘Banter’ explores the sonic contributions from fine people in and around the experimental electronic and acoustic scenes while providing a forum to discuss esoteric subjects and then dance all that knowledge out in a room full of pretty pictures. For this 3-tiered explosion of culture the evening's schedule is as follows:

8:00 PM - Doors Open

8:30 PM - ROTH MOBOT, The "Paris Demo"
In a rare hybrid appearance, the Circuit Bending duo of Tommy Stephenson and Patrick McCarthy, will recreate their infamous "Paris Demo" (which brought down the house at the OFFF Festival). They will conduct a short lecture, a live demonstration of "Circuit Bending," followed by one of their unique strategically improvised "recursive jazz" performances on brand new homemade experimental electronic devices. The audience will then have a hands-on opportunity to examine the devices after the performance in an interactive Q&A session.

10:00 PM - Treasure Mammal, Live Performance

11:00 PM - Decimus, Live Performance

12:00 AM - The Drum, Live Performance

Presented by AdHoc.fm and Brent Heyl. Special thanks to PBR for providing complimentary beer!!

FREE Open Sound Lab at ESS

Friday, June 29th, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM ~FREE~
5925 North Ravenswood Ave. Chicago, IL 60660 (map)

The ESS will be opening the doors to their fantastic north-side digital studio and gallery for the first of three summer Open Sound Labs. Artists, musicians, fans, and the curious are encouraged to bring completed projects, works in progress, or just themselves to this informal Show & Tell / Project Making/ Experimental Open Mic / Studio Tour.

Have you taken a workshop at the ESS in the past and have follow-up questions? Are you thinking of taking a workshop at the ESS and have inquiries? Are you an experimental musician who just wishes to meet other artists in a constructive environment?

The ESS Open Experimental Sound Lab is the meeting place for experimental musicians and inventors of all ages to gather, work on projects, discuss their work, jam, and network.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Recent Workshop in Chicago Reader

Grab this week's Reader. Our first in a series of summer workshops has been listed in the AGENDA section (top of page 7). You can also read about it on the Reader's web site.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Summer Workshop Series Announced


Given the popularity of last summer's series of Getting Bent workshops, Chicago's Experimental Sound Studio has again enlisted Patrick McCarthy to lead another series of affordable workshops over the course of the summer of 2012. This year, in addition to the adult classes, we're offering a whole series of classes geared toward younger circuit benders, as well as informal 'Open Labs,' and an opportunity for students to show off their inventions at a culminating recital/expo.

In addition to the schedule below there are more details as to how to best prepare for the workshops on Roth Mobot's Workshops page.

Sunday, June 17th, 1:00PM - 5:00PM
Introduction to Circuit Bending (Adults)*
Take apart an old toy and make a brand new musical instrument! No previous electronics experience is required!

Sunday, June 24th, 1:00PM - 4:00PM
Introduction to Experimental Music & Instruments (Kids)
This workshop specifically designed for children ages 11 - 14 yrs. explores making your own musical instruments out of common household materials and how to create your own music on them.

Friday, June 29th, 1:00PM - 4:00PM
Open Experimental Sound Lab
The ESS Open Experimental Sound Lab is the meeting place for experimental musicians of all ages to gather, work on their projects, and discuss their work.

Sunday, July 22nd, 1:00PM - 5:00PM
Introduction to Homemade Electroacoustics (Adults)
This workshop teaches the physics of a contact mic, the simplicity of its construction from reclaimed materials, and the basics of DIY electroacoustic instrument design and construction. No previous electronics experience is required!

Friday, July 27th, 1:00PM - 4:00PM
Open Experimental Sound Lab
See above.

Sunday, July 29th, 1:00PM - 4:00PM 
Introduction to Homemade Electroacoustics (Kids)
Students ages 11- 14 will learn the basics of DIY (Do It Yourself) experimental electroacoustic musical instrument design and construction.

Sunday, August 19th, 1:00PM - 5:00PM
How to Build a Controller Oscillator (Adults)
learn how to read electronics schematics, how to assemble a homemade oscillator, and how to use it to control and trigger electronic devices.

Sunday, August 26th, 1:00PM - 5:00PM
How to Build a Vactrol Sequencer (Adults)
Various devices can be triggered in predictable (and sometimes unpredictable!) patterns using this simple circuit.

Friday, August 31, 1:00PM - 4:00PM
Open Experimental Sound Lab Recital / Expo
This final Open Lab session will culminate in a recital of devices constructed over the summer by various participants of all ages. Other instruments will be on display in an interactive exposition wherein audience members can explore homemade experimental musical devices and their sounds.